d said to his face that he had betrayed their trust and stolen their childhood sandusky rose in his red jail house jumpsuit and said he did no such thing. >> they can take away my life and make me out as a monster they can treat me as a monster but they cannot take away my heart. in my heart, i know i did not do these alleged, disgusting acts. >> it is truly shocking that he will not accept responsibility. >> the judge told a 68-year-old former coach he will likely and rightly be locked up for the rest of his life. those we spoke to said it seems just. >> what he did to those nine young men was very wrong.

>> it will just tear your heart out that somebody you trust it can do that to your kids. >> sandusky and his lawyers plan to appeal. sandusky continues to claim the accusers are simply after money. >> before you blame me as other hus, -- as others have, look at the accusers and their families. >> his comments are called absolutely delusional. sandusky has been taken to the county jail here for 10 days and then he will move into the state system where presumably, he will stay for the rest of his life. brad bell, abc 7 news. >> under pennsylvania law sandusky can not be released before the minimum of 30 years. beside the appeals, there are

plenty of lawsuits. penn state is in the process of settling a number of those lawsuits. >> let's switch gears and talk about the weather today. another damp and chilly fall day for the washington area. >> some milder temperatures are on the way. >> a few breaks in the overcast, but the clouds are still hanging around. it is gray and damp and only 58 degrees right now. anywhere from. 10 2.25 inches of rain. -- .10 to .25 images of rain. tonight it will start to clear

out a little bit 44-52 degrees. we can see the cloud is moving across the appalachians. it looks like a great day tomorrow. we will give you the next seven days in the weather coming up in just a few minutes. >> let's turn to a developing story in virginia. authorities have ruled the death of a star reporter a homicide. the 48-year-old was found dead in her burning home on july 9. witnesses say they saw greenhalgh arguing with the man the night before her death. >> brown was after he failed to make three required weekly phone calls with court officials. he now has to meet with those

officials once a week. brown pleaded guilty in june to bank fraud and a misdemeanor finance charge progress now to the race to the white house. president obama less than francisco this morning. this is the last day for ohio residents to register to vote. early voting has already begun in this key battleground state. meanwhile, mitt romney campaigned today in iowa. rummy address more than 1000 supporters gathered in a cornfield. tonight repeal would be making another stop. >> in just a few minutes, first lady michelle obama will take to the stage for a rally. she certainly attracts a female audience. rebecca cooper has the story for us. >> undecided voter meaghan says

mitt romney may have won her over. at the debate, she felt he looked more presidential than the president. >> i really appreciated that romney took the time to look obama in the eyes, and obama would look down or would not at exactly address ann romney. >> in the latest polls, mitt romney now holds a slimd among likely voters. among women voters, it is even. 47% each. president obama held an 18 point lead with women voters in september. belinda claims one of his only specific in the debate was cutting funding for big bird. >> at fincke had big form and not a lot of substance. -- i think he had big form and not a lot of substance. >> whatever your particular opinion is on women's health,

abortion, many of us believe that everyone has the right to choose. >> this romney supporter says the debate turned the tide. >> i think like he was very interested, very involved and he knew what he was talking about. he was very presidential. >> a reminder for you to check out our battleground virginia special. we will have a look at the people making of some of the most crucial votes in the nation. that is tonight at 7:00 right here on abc 7. >> the nationals are back in town is getting ready for the series against the cardinals. the preparations are underway for tomorrow night's big game. >> ground crews as you can see behind me doing the final touches here at nationals park.

have been busy for the last couple of hours for the biggest game in the history of the nats. >> not seen in washington d.c. and a lifetime, it was properly in place at nats park today. the nationalists took in several hours of batting practice this afternoon, getting ready to host dc's first-ever home playoff game. only standing room tickets are available, and only if you return to the stadium tomorrow morning. >> i don't care, i just want to be in the stadium. >> some fans are little upset by the game's start time,>> are you calling in sick, or taking the day off? >> i think double call in sick. >> -- i think i will call in

sick. >> with so many planning to show their natitude with what they wear, this has been the biggest -- the busiest place in the area. >> very crazy. >> what you are looking at right now, some would call the nosebleed seats. on craigslist, they are going for a least $150. there is not a bad seat in this house. a lot of people will be happy to get those tickets. people coming to the box office today were given this piece of paper and told to come back tomorrow at 9:00. expect a long line for those people hoping to get their hands on those standing room only seats. >> $150 for the nosebleed seats.

>> a 1:00 game on a weekday? >> it will be full, i am sure. still to come, an update on the meningitis care across the u.s.. there are more cases in our region. we will have the latest information.

>> a major shift in america's religious views. >> there is no longer a protestant majority and a growing number of people are not following a religion at all. >> first of all, most americans, 80%, still say they believe in god but a lot more

of them have no a -- have no religious affiliation. it seems to be the son of the times. >> i don't have a religion. >> many of my friends, even if that were raised in a religion, they are not in one now. >> a new poll shows 20% of americans are now no religious affiliation. one-third under age 30 don't belong to any church. >> i have issues with the birth control and things like that. gay rights and things like that cause me to have issues with them. >> for the first time ever the study found the percentage of protestants in america dropped below 50%. >> many of the people i know don't attend church or have left their churches.

>> church scandals have not help, either. there are sharp political ramifications as well. those who say they have no religious affiliation or overwhelmingly democrat, support -- support abortion rights and gay marriage. >> we have to make ourselves relevant in this day and age. i do believe that. >> the younger generation traditionally rebels, but the study found that young people say they are not looking for a religion that is right for them. it could be a permanent decline and a real crisis for the church. >> officials are concerned about the growing number of cases of meningitis. the centers for disease control report some 119 cases

nationwide. there have been 24 cases in virginia, including one death. nearly 700 patients could have contained -- could have obtained tainted steroid injections. >> officials say smoke alarms and an escape plan, are key to survival. the consumer product safety commission says there are about four hundred thousand unintentional home fires every year. the number one place residential fire start is in the kitchen. >> it is almost time to start cranking up the fireplaces. >> not quite as cold as yesterday. >> kind of a damp day all day. we will see some changes though. temperatures will go up and down for the next few days.

kind of a cloudy start to the day. if you look closely, there is a little patch of blue. now the clouds are going to hang tough but will clear out of the area tonight. it will be a delightful wednesday. light winds down and fairfax and 58 degrees at the moment. 62 at reagan national, 61 at frederick. the temperatures will cool off tonight at the clouds move through. back to minneapolis st. paul, 48 degrees. the cool air will push back to the northeast. we will see a chilly night and then a nice, warm day tomorrow. upper 60's to near 70.

this will move off to the east later tonight and get into some clearing skies. once we get going through the morning, things will warm up and the skies will turn partly if not mostly sunny. close to 70 degrees through the day. another front will come through without much fanfare late tomorrow night. that will return dry weather and pleasant conditions here for the end of the week. this generic area of high wake's for the clouds to get by, pushed through by the front. as we get through the next couple of days, breezy, cooler weather and very pleasant conditions. specifically for tomorrow during the day, we will start with some patchy fog and partly cloudy skies, 44-52 in the morning. it will warm up nicely for the afternoon.

it will warm up to about 70 with a nice breeze. as we head for the next seven days, here is what we have for you. temperatures cooling a bit thursday and friday, lots of sunshine. a cool down on saturday with partly sunny skies. it will start to warm up again sunday, monday, and tuesday. it looks like the stock market, and down. >> that was a good one. two all stars will be sent home tonight on dancing with the stars after being given the okay to push the boundaries last

night. >> practice was tough. when it comes together like this on a monday night, that is the way you do it. >> we had a rough week, we got through it, and i am glad we got over it. >> double elimination night to night on "dancing with the stars." >> how is your patient is when you are waiting for lunch at the drive-through? >> we look at which the fast- food joints are in fact the fastest. but as does not always mean accurate. >> a woman dying from cancer has an experience with the tsa.

[ male announcer ] who will raise taxes on the middle class? according to an independent non-partisan study, barack obama and the liberals will raise taxes on the middle class by $4,000. the same organization says the plan from mitt romney and common sense conservatives is "not a tax hike on the middle class." want proof? read the non-parntisan study for yourself at american.com. obama and his liberal allies? we can't affor four more years. i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

>> if you are complaining about how high gas prices are, we have something for you to keep in mind. >> drivers in california set another day of record highs there. the state average per gallon of gas is about $5.67.

>> california drivers frustrated with a price spike at the pump are dealing with the fourth straight day of record high gas prices. >> it is terrible. >> i only got 20 gallons. >> the prices of 49 cents since last week, far higher than the national average of $3.80 a gallon, according to the department of energy. california's dramatic spike is being blamed on several refineries and pipeline problems. many skeptical drivers say the explanations for the high prices is bogus.

even california senator barbara boxer is calling for an investigation. >> we want to make sure there is no manipulation going on. >> oil experts say drivers can blame california's tough air quality regulations. governor jerry brown has ordered another blend appeal to be released early. don't expect to see a dramatic drop in prices soon. experts say could be another week before california drivers finally see any relief. >> the national average for gas is now $3.81. the lowest prices are in virginia. >> why parents at a local school might have to pay rent to use their children's classroom.

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>> you are watching abc 7 news at 5:00 with leon harris, alison starling, doug hill weather and tim brant sports. this is abc 7 news at 5:00, on your side. >> we are back now with a spike in violent crime for people in one district neighborhood. >> more than six people have been shot in the area of new york avenue and north capitol street. people are asking for stepped-up police patrols. >> we just actually saw stepped up police patrols. when you have so many people shot in such a precise location

like this one behind me, in such a short amount of time, residents are obviously on edge. >> gunfire broke out here on two nights in one week. a total of six people have been shot including a 14-year-old girl. >> first i heard gunshots and then there were five gunshots. >> she lives just to round the corner. >> i have a 16-year-old daughter who i cherish more than life itself, and i am very, very concerned. >> in front of this market, at d.c. police say of 52-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman were struck by bullets. were they intended targets or innocent bystanders? police said they do not know yet.

>> we need more cops walking the beat. >> fast forward to this scene in front of the same store friday night. but the " -- a 25-year-old man others were shot. >> anybody with any kind of information about this, if they saw or heard anything, needs to get in touch with us. >> so far it could be just a very bad coincidence. as for the 14-year-old boy who was shot in the chest he was in serious condition at the time of the shooting. if you have any indication at all, please call the police -- any information at all. >> the metropolitan police

officer was arrested in pittsburg after allegedly threatening a port authority officer. he allegedly pulled out a baton and started swinging it wally when he was told there no seats available friday night. he is now on leave. >> former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky has been sentenced to at least 30 years in prison for sexually abusing 10 boys. a defiant sandusky that a random speech in which he denied the allegations. his lawyers plan to file an appeal. >> the death of a winchester star reporter has been ruled a homicide. sarah greenhalgh died from gunshot wound to her neck. an investigation is underway. >> the washington nationals are back in town.

game 3 of the series against the cardinals is tied 1-1. standing-room-only tickets are available. the first pitch takes place that's 1:05 tomorrow afternoon. >> a dozen bottle bombs were found outside a mormon church. police say this is not a hate crime, but some members of that congregation are not convinced. >> investigators believe a video like this found on the internet inspired two 11-year-old boy is to litter the parking lot of this mormon church with 15 bottles' bombs. 11 of them exploded. >> and neighbor spotted the bombs saturday. an investigator says no one got hurt but bottle bombs made with hydrochloric acid can inflict serious injury.

>> neighbors and investigators believe the 11-year-olds meant no harm to the church, but some members of the mormon congregation see it differently. >> we have had some vandalism and seen some windows broken out. >> he thinks it may have to do with presidential candidate mitt romney's mormon faith. >> we have had an increase in vandalism nationwide. >> the 11-year-olds were arrested, charged with criminal mischief, and released to their parents and told to undergo some kind of counseling. >> officer stopped a man from bringing a gun on an airplane at reagan national airport. it was found in the man's carry-

on bag when it went through the x-ray machine. the man did catch his flight to dallas without his firearm. >> and there were some delays this morning as trains were reduced to a single track. there was a power outage and slowed travel on the line. two out of three tracks for amtrak are open but crews are still working on the third track. >> we are seeing some delays on the inner loop of the beltway and some slower traffic as you travel long i-270 heading through germantown and up toward 80 urbana. also the george washington parkway, seeing some delays now

near memorial bridge. there is fire activity working out in bethesda, not causing too much of a delay as you head for bethesda. >> coming up which passed to join is really the quickest? we will show you which ones are the fastest but not always the most accurate with your order progress 1 loman talks about an incident with tsa that embarrass her at the airport. that story is next.

>> old woman dying from cancer says a security pat-downs left her embarrassed -- a woman dying from cancer says she was left embarrassed. she said she prepared for a screening ahead of time. now she is speaking out. nadarajah barrett has that story tonight. >> she said she was so embarrassed, she says tsa

screeners check her bandages from recent surgery and would not give her the private search that she asked for. >> she was literally taking one of the last trips of her lyse -- ever life when she claims tsa humiliated her. she is dying from leukemia and she carried a large amount of prescription drugs with her on a trip to hawaii. she called ahead of time for a wheelchair and to ask how her medicine should be separated for the security line. during the screening, she says nothing went right. a machine could not get a reading on her saline bags soak a tsa agent fourth one opened, contaminating the fluid she needs to survive. she says tsa agents made her left hershberg to pull back the bandages, with passengers staring at her. she asked for privacy and said

she was told no. they just said the location braque was fine. when somebody wants to take a trip especially what i call an end of life trip because you want to see your family and friends, then it is even more important than just taking a trip. >> on the tsa web site, they have information for people travelling with wheelchairs' or unusual medications. it asks passengers to contact them directly. a tsa spokeswoman says it is against policies for passengers to be denied privacy if they ask, and they are looking into this incident. >> what a sad story there. >> coming up, we will see what

is that the produce counter right now. >> it is kind of took off. people were putting in request to see more videos. >> an incredible love story gone by role. -- gone

>> 23-year-old taylor morris is a quadruple mpgand beauty. >> he is making an incredible -- a quadruple amputee. is this love story with long time beyonce danielle kelly. >> we started out being best friends. >> we generally enjoyed being around each other pretty quick seven years later, they are facing a devastating situation together. taylor injured in afghanistan.

>> i stepped on an ied and blue myself into the air. >> incredibly, he remained conscious brubecks i remember landing on the ground and looking over my volleybody. five months later people worldwide are aware of his recovery. home-video shows him taking his first steps through the hospital hallways even practicing dancing in their peak. >> we are just trying to focus on living in the moments. >> we both have our of days, but they are kind of offset from each other. we have had people writing

letters and e-mails telling of their personal stories about how this is helping them. that is the major thing that has motivated us to continue doing it. >> taylor's recovery has not been easy for either of them. >> we still do the things we love to do and we still plan on living the life we have always planned on living together. >> they say they are focusing on recovery now and maybe having kids one day. we have more on the story at wjla.com. >> thanks for that story. a new study shows adding tomatoes to your diet can reduce your risk of stroke.

they have the highest levels of lycopene. stroke risk can be reduced by 55%. there is increased scrutiny on sugary sodas. machines will post calorie counts on the buttons were the customers pressed to select a drink. this comes ahead of regulations that require restaurants and vending machines to provide that information. >> when it comes to customer satisfaction at the driver, chick-fil-a and wendy's take the top honors. chick-fil-a gets 92% of its orders correct. wendy's was by far the fastest. burger king slowed the loup -- scored the lowest in both

accuracy and speed. >> dorothy's ruby slippers will temporarily the smithsonian museum. the smithsonian is loaning those shoes to london for the victoria and albert museum. they will be back by november 21. they will be displayed with the blue and white dress that dorothy war. -- that dorothy wore. >> coming up at 6:00 this evening, gordon peterson is live in our newsroom. >> senior political reporter scott thuman those inside the numbers that showed shifting poll numbers in the race for the white house.

we'll talk about what is on the line for the district at the nationals return home. we'll see you soon. >> coming up tomorrow information for all parents out there. >> find out how to protect your children online from the people who know best, hear from petitors'predators themselves. >> changes coming, starting tomorrow. completely different weather pattern. this camera from st. john's catholic school in frederick. it will be a process during the evening and night to get the rest of the clouds out of here. 61 all over the place.

temperatures are going to fall tonight. we have to wait for the cloud deck to clear out and that will happen as a high-pressure comes in. we may start off with a little bit of fog in some spots but it will brighten up as we head for the day. during the day tomorrow, temperatures despite near 70 degrees by midafternoon. it will be a beautiful day. it looks like the beautiful weather pattern will continue with the next chance of wayne not until monday. -- the next chance of rain and not until monday. there is a lot of weather information at wjla.com. >> the nats duo the cardinals a

little bit of a beat down after last night. >> you are absolutely right. if you watched all of the game last night, you truly are a fan because it was painful at times to what. they did what they set out to do, which was to win on the road. they got some special infield help. every now the details and getting ready for tomorrow night's historic home playoff opener. the nationals took to their turf today. less than 24 hours after last night's loss at st. louis. >> we are excited to see the fans come out and cheer us on. >> it was just a flat out beating. it is not the first time it has

happened. we are ready to go. >> the nationals insist they are a focus bunch and that they have the cardinals wide where they want them. the series is tied at 1 with three remaining games here at nationals park. >> we are ready to take it to them here in washington. >> 10-year-old great has been a mainstay at batting practice all season -- 10-year-old drake. >> he is getting a little cocky with it. when i miss one, he is starting to tell me what i am doing wrong. i remember growing up, getting to do it with my dad. that was some of my best times growing up. i would like for drake to have

the same thing. >> edgar jackson will take the mound tomorrow. is the most experience in the world series with the cardinals. we'll have details of who he is up against coming up at 6:00. he was walking right up to the coach. he looks really comfortable. >> coming up next, parents are let

me tell you how i will create 12 million jobs when president obama couldn't. first my energy independence policy means more than three million new jobs. many of them in manufacturing.

myx tax reform plan to lower rates for the middle class and for small business creates seven million more. and expanding trade, cracking down on china and improving job training takes us to over 12 million new jobs. i'm mitt romney, and d i approve this message. >> some local parents are concerned about whether some before school classes will be allowed to keep going. >> this is now asking the parents to pay some hefty rental use the -- some hefty rent to

use the classrooms. >> her daughters have been in the program her youngest is now in third grade and currently enrolled. now she and other parents are being asked to pay for the space they use at the school something they have never done before. >> $1,000 a month for rent would put them out of business. they don't understand why this is happening now and would hate to see the program disappear. >> very disappointing. >> the school principal tells us the list of non school affiliated programs on campus. she says requests from outside entities to host programs on campus have jumped significantly.

that is part of the reason she has to enforce a city requirement that all outside companies apply for the space to be used. >> it protect me from having personal liability if anything happens if a child is hurt or injured. >> there is caution on the parent's side too. >> a possible solution would be that the city's working with the school remeasured the space that the school is using. >> that is it for abc 7 news at 5:00. new polls show the shift in the race for the white house. >> all i could think was, what a liar.

he was just very good at it. >> what jerry sandusky is saying after his sentencing. >> the new starts right now at 6:00. >> live and in hd, this is abc 7 news at 6:00, on your side. >> in the battle for the white house, the first lady works to win voters in loudon county, a swing county in a swing state. this is a live look at the loudon county fairgrounds where mrs. obama is just finishing speaking with voters. a new service shows mitt romney